by David Brenneman
O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way." Psalms 139:1-24.
"How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom"
(c)2003 Philips, Craig and Dean "How Deep the Father’s Love for Us".
I have had the older music in my collection come to mind of late. Partially I think because of the "Trusting God with Today" devotional by Dr. Charles Stanley exerpts that I have scanned and printed to put on the board at my study desk. To remind me of how much the Father loves me. How my God loves me.
God is so in love with His children.
You are God in Heaven
And here am I on earth
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with you
And I'll stand in awe of you [Jesus]
Yes, I'll stand in awe of you
And I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with You
The simplest of all love songs
I want to bring to you
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with You
And I'll stand in awe of you [Jesus]
Yes, I'll stand in awe of you
And I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with You
- "Let My Words be Few" (c) 2001 Philips, Craig and Dean.
We were looking at the blessings of God towards us during our season of my unemployment. We have been oh so blessed. We in turn don't hesitate to bless others if it's within our means to do so.
As a lesson I read about with a father and his son goes...he gave his son two coins and had one in each hand. He was to clench his fists tight n no matter what examples he gave he wasn't to give those coins to him. So his first example was someone in need who could really use them. His child didn't budge. Then he offered him something of even more value than the coins. He thought about it but still didn't budge. Then his father pointed out to his child that so long as their hands stayed closed around what they were given, they could neither bless someone else nor receive anything more.
We can often get into that situation. We get blessed then neglect to be ready to bless. We can set limits on blessing others when the Spirit is clear on what He's wanting us to do. We can neglect to see something greater on the horizon when we focus only on what's in our possession.
Jesus knows our hearts. Has known us from afar. From before we were even born. Knows our going out and our coming in. He saw us being formed in our mother's womb. Knew all our days before as yet one of them occurred.
Oh how deep the Father's love for us, how vast and beyond all measure. Yet we can miss it all by just a bit of selfishness. A bit of this or that.
How can you be a blessing if you're not in that mindset to bless?
How can you say you're living for Jesus when you refuse to go where He says, do what He wants or even have your hands open to receive what He's wanting you to have?
We cannot hide the truth behind our motives with He who IS Truth.
We can and will lie to ourselves to appease our conscience. We will convince ourselves that the choices we made are even having been wrought in God that we did what we did for Him.
But the truth is still there.
Are you really trying to please God in all that you do or are you jockeying to get what you want out of life instead? Are you striving to please Him in all that you do? Are you really committed to the requirements of "Whatever" that comes with salvation in Christ Jesus? As Peter was told so are we "As for you, you follow Me!".
"And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?" Luke 9:23-25.
Self-examination in terms of wanting what God wants for you is always a healthy thing. Then begin praying for yourself in the changes that the Spirit will, not might, tell you needs to happen.
His job is to make us fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. To make us more like Christ. Only Satan's schemes and our sin nature are fully opposed to that. We need to recognize these things and hand them to Jesus to deal with.
Oh the depths of His love for me and for you. Our lives were never meant to be the same after coming to Christ for salvation. We were given spiritual gifts to be both discovered and to be used.
Pray for yourself this day to be who Jesus wants you to be, to let go of what you should and to be ready both to bless and receive the blessings of others.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
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